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PrintUp to Date & Accurate Information about the AAHE/SOPHE Merger
Dear AAHE Members:
It is possible that many of you have heard the results of the AAHPERD Board of Governors vote, on September 24, specific to the motions for AAHPERD to reorganize into a single association and for AAHE to separate from AAHPERD. This communiqué is to provide accurate and up-to-date information about the AAHE/SOPHE merger.
On July 29-30, representatives from AAHE and SOPHE met in College Park, MD to review and resolve a variety of issues related to the proposed merger. After this very successful meeting, AAHE and SOPHE representatives met, on September 6, with AAHPERD leaders to reach agreements about the distribution of AAHE assets in the merger process, determine a merger timeline, and set parameters for communicating about the proposed merger and recruiting members to the merged AAHE/SOPHE organization. These agreements formed the basis for a motion to the AAHPERD Board of Governors that was made on September 24. The motion passed unanimously (15-0). Prior to a vote on the AAHE motion to separate from AAHPERD, another motion was passed (13-2) to reorganize AAHPERD into a single association focusing on physical education, physical activity and health.
Formerly, it was thought these motions would require approval by the Alliance Assembly Delegates at the Boston Convention, but multiple legal opinions have verified the two-tiered form of governance employed by AAHPERD is not legal. Consequently, the unanimous vote of the Board of Governors on September 24 is the defining vote opening the door to an AAHE/SOPHE merger.
The following is a summary of the details included in the AAHE motion passed unanimously on September 24.
The copyrights and stock of books, workshop and training materialspublished by AAHE, will be retained by AAHPERD and will be available tothe merged AAHE/SOPHE organization through individually negotiatedagreements for each item as the need arises.
The AAHE archives will remain the property of AAHPERD and will beaccessible to the merged AAHE/SOPHE organization and the profession.
AAHE financial reserves will remain the property of AAHPERD and will bededicated to addressing the health education needs of AAHPERD members.
During the transitional period, the AAHE name and logo may be used,side-by-side with the SOPHE logo, to communicate the merging of AAHE and SOPHE. Thereafter the AAHE name and logo will remain the property of AAHPERD.
The copyrights for the American Journal of Health Education,International Electronic Journal of Health Education and InfoSource willbe transferred to the merged AAHE/SOPHE organization.
The ownership of the copyright for the online Health Education TeachingTechniques Journal remains undetermined.
Finally, two scholarship funds (Kane Scholarship and Cooley Scholarship) will migrate with AAHE to the merged AAHE/SOPHE organization, except where donors to those scholarships specifically designate they want their scholarship donation to remain with AAHPERD.
Also included in the Board of Governors motion was a timeline that will bring AAHE's history to a close after the 2013 AAHPERD convention in Charlotte. The merged AAHE/SOPHE organization, when it comes into being, will be committed to a strong collaborative relationship with AAHPERD to serve each organization's members. Some current AAHE members (for example, physical education/health education teachers) will find that the new, reorganized AAHPERD will be their best future professional organization. Their needs, through convention programs and publications like the on-line Health Education Teaching Techniques Journal and other services, will continue to be addressed. Those members will not need to join another professional organization. Other members, some of whom are already SOPHE members, will find that the merged AAHE/SOPHE will be their best future professional home.
AAHE leaders have been working diligently to create a "win-win-win" outcome for AAHPERD, AAHE and SOPHE, and simultaneously create a unified professional organization that will even more effectively serve the membership and the profession. We look forward to working with AAHE members, AAHPERD, and SOPHE, in the transitional period that will lead to a merged AAHE and SOPHE.
AAHE Executive Committee (Tom Davis, Caile Spear, Donna Videto, David Birch)